Introducing… the Spike FLEX!

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SpikeBrewing

SpikeBrewing

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We’re bringing you small batch fermenting to another level. The Flex will open doors to quality, flexibility and functionality you can’t find anywhere else. With all sanitary welded, 1.5” tri-clamp fittings and over 20 a-la-carte accessories available, you’ll be able to control temps, carbonate, pressure transfer and more in this 304 stainless steel fermenter. Link below to see more about the FLEX!

201903_FLEXSTD_SPIKE_572x697_02.png


Link: [URL='https://spikebrewing.link/Flex_']https://spikebrewing.link/Flex_ [/URL]​
 
I saw a prototype of one of these when I stopped in to pick up my kettle. Looked really nice! I'm looking forward to seeing some reviews on it.

Are these stack-able, or would the top 4" TC port interfere with the conical bottom above it?
 
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I'll probably buy at least one these soon. Only thing that I won't be able to do is put it in my 7.2 cu.ft chest freezer. I can fit two SS Brew Buckets in there, but with this being 15" wide, and the internal depth of my chest freezer is 15.25", I'll have to ferment somewhere else with it.
 
I'll probably pull the trigger on 1 or 2 of these once I confirm that I can fit one in my fermentation fridge. I wonder if that 15" diameter includes the racking port.
 
Looks great! I have the Spike 10 gal conical and absolutely love it. But, I need to rationalize in my brain the difference in price between the simple Anvil brew bucket at $135 and the bells and whistles Flex at $250. Just wish Spike to throw out a one time discount for us on the HBT forum as an incentive to pick up a Flex.
 
chewse said:
Looks great! I have the Spike 10 gal conical and absolutely love it. But, I need to rationalize in my brain the difference in price between the simple Anvil brew bucket at $135 and the bells and whistles Flex at $250. Just wish Spike to throw out a one time discount for us on the HBT forum as an incentive to pick up a Flex.
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Anvil/ ssbrewtech is a stainless bucket. Spikes a stainless unitank minus the cone for dumping. No comparison imho. Cheers
 
Blazinlow86 said:
Anvil/ ssbrewtech is a stainless bucket. Spikes a stainless unitank minus the cone for dumping. No comparison imho. Cheers
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Good point but I use conicals for more controlled fermentations and brew buckets for simple fermentations. I just can't get my head around why I would spend the incremental money to gain features I already have with the conicals. However saying this, I would bet I'll buy one in the coming months.
 
AF1HomeBrew said:
The clear cap on the Flex + is cool. I just purchased one.
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I saw you post that you had a 7.2 cf freezer with the same measurements as mine. Im very curious to see if it might fit. It’s the only thing that’s keeping me from pulling the trigger. The Flex + is exactly what I’ve been looking for. As close to a CF series while still (possibly) using a chest freezer to control temps and a big step up from a brew bucket.
 
I like Spike stuff, I like the spike people. I had VERY MINOR issues with ONE purchase - they fixed it immediately. I will stick with their stuff, and I will buy one of these soon as i pay of my last stuff from them. They have treated me like gold - nuff said personally.
 
chewse said:
Good point but I use conicals for more controlled fermentations and brew buckets for simple fermentations. I just can't get my head around why I would spend the incremental money to gain features I already have with the conicals. However saying this, I would bet I'll buy one in the coming months.
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Just depends on your process and obviously the level finished product your going for. Again unitank advantages vs bucket. I can't think of any logical reasoning to choose the bucket besides the cost. Cheers
 
Rob2010SS said:
Can someone explain to me why this is better than say the brew bucket? To me, this is just the spike version of the brew bucket, no?
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the main thing for me would be the TC fittings and the ability to upgrade. the down side is no trub dump and the flex+ is getting pretty close to the spike conical once you add similar options and if you add a butterfly valve to the flex your getting close to the flex+
 
Rob2010SS said:
Can someone explain to me why this is better than say the brew bucket? To me, this is just the spike version of the brew bucket, no?
Click to expand...

For me, I've been eyeing Spike's conical's, specifically the CF10 & CF15. I own 2 SS Brewtech brew buckets, and an Anvil SS fermenter. The reason I haven't splurged on a CF10 or CF15 conical is because of the additional cost of the accessories I'd need & they wouldn't be as easy to move to where I am going to ferment. The Flex + (for me) is a step in the right direction when compared to the SS Brewtech Brew Bucket or Anvil SS fermenter because of the TC fittings.
 
Anyone know how much one of these weighs?

My problem with it is that you will still need to pick it up and dump the yeast out to clean it. I can't think of a way to truly clean it in place.

With all those welded fittings I bet this weighs a fair bit more than a glass carboy. Granted there's no risk of breakage and the handles make it easier to move. But if I have a setup like this I want to be able to clean without picking up a single heavy thing.

The price is right and the features it does have are awesome but not being able to dump the yeast in place is a deal breaker for me. I wonder if they can cut a hole in the bottom of the cone and weld a TC fitting there...

Another thing,

Why would you even want to carbonate on top of the yeast cake when a closed transfer to a keg is just as easy?

I'm still planning to go with the spike conical for all those reasons. 2x the price but with all the features plus a few more, and way more convenient to clean, or harvest yeast.
 
The Flex looks like an interesting alternative to the SS Brewbucket.. I'd want the thermowell and I guess the racking port could double as a sample valve. As interesting as the Flex+ is, seems that it gets close enough to the cost of a CF5 that I'd probably just buy the C5 instead given the additional accessories.

When you are spending that much on a 5G fermenter, whats another couple of hundred bucks?
 
TheMadKing said:
Another thing,

Why would you even want to carbonate on top of the yeast cake when a closed transfer to a keg is just as easy?.
Click to expand...

I think it’s an interesting idea to now have the option that’s lower price than a full blown unitank. I like the idea of almost no exposure to O2 and having carbonated beer coming out of the fermenter. Wonder if there are any effects with the yeast staying put during carbonation?
 
Wagon_6 said:
I think it’s an interesting idea to now have the option that’s lower price than a full blown unitank. I like the idea of almost no exposure to O2 and having carbonated beer coming out of the fermenter. Wonder if there are any effects with the yeast staying put during carbonation?
Click to expand...

Unless you intend for the beer to sit on the yeast cake the entire time you are drinking it, you will have to transfer to another vessel eventually anyway, so I still don't see an advantage there.
 
I've been looking for a way to ferment under pressure and this looks really interesting. The only issue is temp control as a glycol chiller ramps the price way up, adds noise and takes more room.

I'll probably get one eventually, but not until after we move and I have a dedicated brew space.
 
I'm extremely interested in the Flex+ if I can figure out a way to make it fit in my fermentation fridge. I had planned to get a SS Brew Bucket, but the tri-clamps and pressure capability with the Flex is a big win for me.
 
TheMadKing said:
Anyone know how much one of these weighs?

My problem with it is that you will still need to pick it up and dump the yeast out to clean it. I can't think of a way to truly clean it in place.

With all those welded fittings I bet this weighs a fair bit more than a glass carboy. Granted there's no risk of breakage and the handles make it easier to move. But if I have a setup like this I want to be able to clean without picking up a single heavy thing.

The price is right and the features it does have are awesome but not being able to dump the yeast in place is a deal breaker for me. I wonder if they can cut a hole in the bottom of the cone and weld a TC fitting there...

Another thing,

Why would you even want to carbonate on top of the yeast cake when a closed transfer to a keg is just as easy?

I'm still planning to go with the spike conical for all those reasons. 2x the price but with all the features plus a few more, and way more convenient to clean, or harvest yeast.
Click to expand...
It's not only carbonating in the tank. You can also ferment under pressure/ cold crash under pressure also. Cheers
 
Blazinlow86 said:
It's not only carbonating in the tank. You can also ferment under pressure/ cold crash under pressure also. Cheers
Click to expand...

Yep I get that, though it says specifically that you can't cold-crash under vacuum if that's what you mean, you need to charge it to 5 PSI of CO2 prior to cold crashing in the instructions. Those are nice features, no argument there, but then when I'm done I still have to transfer to a serving vessel, carry this thing to my wash area and lift it up and dump the yeast out of it.

If you buy the Flex+ including all the accessories and a glycol chiller you're in for $1000+ anyway, so why not spend the little extra for being able to dump yeast straight out the bottom, carbonate, serve, anything you want, then clean in place?

Also they say "You’ll easily be able to primary, secondary, carbonate (brite) and pressure transfer with one vessel!" which is an oxymoron since you can't secondary without getting it off the yeast cake which requires a second vessel, and transfers by definition require a second vessel.

I love spike products, I'm not trying to say spike sucks or anything like that, but I'm struggling to see the advantage of one of these over a conical other than a couple hundred dollars cheaper and a smaller footprint.
 
TheMadKing said:
I love spike products, I'm not trying to say spike sucks or anything like that, but I'm struggling to see the advantage of one of these over a conical other than a couple hundred dollars cheaper and a smaller footprint.
Click to expand...
I totally agree with you except that for me for the bolded part is pretty important. I have committed all of the space to brewing that I can, so if this can indeed fit in my ferm fridge (a medium-to-big if), it's pretty ideal for me. Given that I need a smaller footprint, saving a few bucks is nice, although it's probably not even $100 once you take into account the additional valves/accessories that the CF5 comes with. I'd prefer a CF5 (or CF10!), but I just don't have the space.
 
Well 24 hrs after I placed my order, it arrived. Below is a photo with it next to my SS Brewbucket. I'd add the Anvil bucket, but it's full of Flanders Red at the moment. It will fit in my 7.2 cu Ft. Chest Freezer too. Like all of my Spike Brewing Equipment it's built like a tank & Shiny. Definitely will outlive my liver.

They even threw in a packet of Bar Keeper's Friend & Craftmeister Alkaline Brewery Wash.

IMG_8261.JPG
IMG_8266.JPG
 
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AF1HomeBrew said:
Well 24 hrs after I placed my order, it arrived. Below is a photo with it next to my SS Brewbucket. I'd add the Anvil bucket, but it's full of Flanders Red at the moment. It will fit in my 7.2 cu Ft. Chest Freezer too. Like all of my Spike Brewing Equipment it's built like a tank & Shiny. Definitely will outlive my liver.

They even threw in a packet of Bar Keeper's Friend & Craftmeister Alkaline Brewery Wash.

View attachment 619369 View attachment 619370
Click to expand...

How heavy is it - as in - how difficult will it be to lift and clean all the trub out of?
 
TheMadKing said:
Yep I get that, though it says specifically that you can't cold-crash under vacuum if that's what you mean, you need to charge it to 5 PSI of CO2 prior to cold crashing in the instructions. Those are nice features, no argument there, but then when I'm done I still have to transfer to a serving vessel, carry this thing to my wash area and lift it up and dump the yeast out of it.

If you buy the Flex+ including all the accessories and a glycol chiller you're in for $1000+ anyway, so why not spend the little extra for being able to dump yeast straight out the bottom, carbonate, serve, anything you want, then clean in place?

Also they say "You’ll easily be able to primary, secondary, carbonate (brite) and pressure transfer with one vessel!" which is an oxymoron since you can't secondary without getting it off the yeast cake which requires a second vessel, and transfers by definition require a second vessel.

I love spike products, I'm not trying to say spike sucks or anything like that, but I'm struggling to see the advantage of one of these over a conical other than a couple hundred dollars cheaper and a smaller footprint.
Click to expand...
There is no advantage over there unitank besides the cost and possibly the smaller size. I was speaking about the numerous advantages over a conical or a brew bucket. Obviously using glycol to cool 5-15 gallons of liquid is overkill and not a requirement considering a 50$ fridge will do the same thing so that's not really relevant. Anyway seems your process works for your goals. For me personally not crashing in the fermentor and getting all the sediment in the serving kegs is unacceptable so it's a no brainer. Again we all have different end goals. Cheers
 

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